In article <JMC.95Feb3114802@SAIL.Stanford.EDU>,
John McCarthy <jmc@cs.Stanford.EDU> wrote:>>Lacking such a definition, scientific progress and good public policy>depends on making use of such information as is available. The public>policy I have in mind is to not infer that all differences in outcome>*must* be consequences of racism.

Alright, but this strong an assertion is not needed to support remedial
programs such as affirmative action. All that is needed is the assertion
that a significant portion of the differences in outcome are caused by
racism past or present. I believe this assertion is supported overwhelmingly
by the evidence. I have read various tirades by you in the past which lead
me to believe that you are opposed to most, perhaps all, forms of affirmative
action. Are you opposed to remedial policies in general? Do you disagree
with the assertion above concerning the causes in differences in outcome?